Zoroastrian Stree Mandal’s Cookbook for a Cause

For those who have decided to get into kitchen and try their hand at cooking delicious food, without picking up recipes from YouTube and other apps, they can opt for the Zoroastrian Stree Mandal (ZSM) cookbook to learn cooking the traditional way.

Along with yummy food you can also add the credit of donating some money to charity as the proceeds of the book will go to the needy.

The first edition of the cookbook was published in the year 1965, specifically for those women who lost their husbands in the Indo-China War and has been helpful in raising money for charity.

“The sixth edition contains more than 250 recipes – regional, traditional and Parsi – and the proceeds of the book will go for charity,” informed Rashna Mistry, fundraising convener at ZSM on Sunday after it’s release.

About 2,000 copies of the book were released at the occasion by the corporate chef Vikram Simha.

ZSM, a charitable trust affiliated to the Indian Council of Social Welfare, focuses on uplifting needy Zoroastrians, and contributes to national causes and aids care giving organisations like the Home for the Aged, Spastic Society of India and so on.

For more than five decades ZSM has been providing aid for the less privileged, making sure that no person in the community is neglected. Its 13 committee members and 265 other members, with the help of Parsi community and the other contributors, distribute `35,000 to `40,000 every month to the people in need.

Elaborating further, Perviz Nalladaru, community president said, “We donate the money to any person in the Parsi community, who is genuinely in need of it. Apart from that we donate medicines, get children educated, help orphanages and NGOs like Help age India.”

“All these activities are made possible through regular fund raising functions like jumble sales, charity premiers, melas, dramas and the sale of the ZSM Cook Book,” added secretary Armin Wadia.

At the venue, a golden tree with all the editions of the ZSM cookbooks were displayed commemorating the hardwork that was put in to bring out those books.

The event was followed by cookery competition where participants made Parsi food, salads and desserts.

The dishes were judged by the chef Vikram, Anjuman president (a sister concern of ZSM) Goolbanoo Y Chenoy and Nawsha Jalnewala.